Transculturality in higher education

Abstract

One way in which higher education has responded to globalisation and the emergence of transculturality has been to expand its focus on internationalisation at an unprecedented rate. Traditionally this occurred through international students and their contact with local students. A longitudinal case study into the student experience of transculturality in the Erasmus Mundus Transcultural European Outdoor Studies Masters programme found transcultural self-growth and transcultural capabilities of resilience, intelligence and the ability to work through fatigue to be central to their experience. Using Kemmis and Smith’s (2008a) themes related to praxis (doing, morally committed action, reflexivity, connection, concreteness and a process of becoming) this theoretical article explores the place of critical transcultural pedagogical praxis in supporting transcultural learning experiences of higher education students.

Linguistic Aspect of the Technology for the Use of Video Content in the Process of Adaptation of Foreign Students at Higher Education Institutions of the United States of America

“…In other words, foreign students who do not possess comprehensive knowledge of the language of the host country and are not familiar with its cultural specifics can be incentivized to study linguistic and cultural aspects more closely (the significance of films for those who study a foreign language was confirmed long ago by J. Lonergan (Lonergan, 1984), who stated that they are critical to getting access to more information via video content viewing. Such an effect, in the opinion of J. Sherman (Sherman, 2003) cannot be achieved by any other type of learning materials).…”

“…In general, scientists paid a lot of attention to an exploration of the significance of films in view of their authenticity, which, according to the findings of J. Sherman (Sherman, 2003), involved the development of a special personal ability to understand reality. In other words, foreign students who do not possess comprehensive knowledge of the language of the host country and are not familiar with its cultural specifics can be incentivized to study linguistic and cultural aspects more closely (the significance of films for those who study a foreign language was confirmed long ago by J. Lonergan (Lonergan, 1984), who stated that they are critical to getting access to more information via video content viewing.…”

“…The use of cinema as a method of socialization of foreign students and linguistic training is an essential prerequisite, which, according to M. Ismiali (Ismiali, 2013), J. Sherman (Sherman, 2003), D. Yuksel (Yuksel, Tanriverdi, 2009), J. Safranj (Safranj, 2015), B. Bal-Gezegin (Bal-Gezegin, 2014), J. Swaffar (Swaffar, Vlatten, 1997), I. Baltova (Baltova, 1999), K. Hsu (Hsu et al, 2013), should serve as a guide for educational institutions, otherwise, students will lack the skills to carry out an effective communication process. This is due to the fact that textbooks and communication with an instructor, which are often the only source of English-language information during classes, do not provide opportunities to acquire sufficient linguistic and cultural knowledge, as evidenced by the findings of M. Ismaili (Ismaili, 2013), who argues that feature films can be used for listening during conversation classes and that it provides an opportunity for analysis and further discussion by students and an advisor or an instructor on the problems presented in a film.…”